<p> Kroger has some <B>big plans</b> in store for Harris Teeter following the completion of its <B>$2.5 billion acquisition</b>. Kroger <B>CEO Rodney McMullen</b> recently discussed some of the big changes ahead for Harris Teeter and its future growth potential.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> McMullen noted that Harris Teeter can <B>add stores in its current markets</b>, such as Charleston, South Carolina, and <B>build market share</b>, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. “The biggest surprise is probably the opportunity for Harris Teeter to grow the business where they are,” he said.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The acquisition also allows Kroger to expand its own operations with Harris Teeter’s <B>227 stores</b> across the U.S. Kroger employees have already taken Harris Teeter’s ideas about how to prepare each store with ads and promotions and spread those across the chain, said McMullen. “For us, when you merge, <B>you’re all on the same team</b>,” he added.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> By embracing change in the past decade, Kroger was able to shift its focus to its customers rather than competition. Even in an intense market, Kroger has successfully achieved a streak of <B>41 straight quarters</b> of <B>generating same-store sales growth</b>, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “<B>Change is fun</b>,” said McMullen. “It’s fun doing something that has not been done before. If it was easy, it would’ve been done before.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Harris Teeter has already announced it was lowering its prices on top of achieving better efficiencies thanks to the acquisition. What else could this retailer be planning…and how will the market react? One thing’s for sure – it’ll be an interesting few months ahead. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://ir.kroger.com/CorporateProfile.aspx?iid=4004136" target="_new"> Kroger </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
